Minako
by Infieri
Summary: (Title may be temporary) Starts the few months before the protagonist becomes the seal, and possibly onwards.
1. Chapter 1

I could see everything; Everyone, as they walked through life day after day. I could see smiles that would shine as bright as the sun, and hear laughter clear like chimes in the wind. This was what I had been determined to protect, what had kept me standing in face of fate. Of my end.

In that beginning, after the battle ended, I had known. That in order to prevent humanity's further destruction, in order for everyone to continue living their lives, I must give up mine.

It felt so good. Back then. It felt so good when I closed my eyes, and saw the faces of everyone I had come to love so happy, so beautiful. It felt so good, that I hadn't thought- I hadn't minded giving up living so they may. I was loved, and had loved.

When they forgot, my heart felt like it was being squeezed and bled. I knew I ran on burrowed time, and that any day might be an end. Every moment. Everyday.

The fog of indifference had suffocated me. But I loved, and was content that I could still laugh with them though they knew nothing of what had been.

I suspected Aigis had known. If the long stares she kept giving me left doubts, it was confirmed when she had visited me that... day. She had grown remarkably well, and had become more... human since we'd first met; However, Aigis still had a lot to learn to be able to... remotely understand humanity, and even then... learning will never cease.

In the beginning that I had known, I was cursed. I was aware. That every passing of a new day, a piece of me goes along with it. That every birth of a new day, I die a little bit more. But as a fool does, I was happy in each day anew.

When that time finally came, I had woken up barely able to move, trembling against a tangle of bedsheet and blanket. I had felt... cold. And no object I managed to grasp on my bed kept it at bay. It was nothing that I had ever felt then. The cold of a shadow's bufu spell, or Mitsuru's icy glare could not compare. I was going to die.

Then Aigis came, and I had asked for assistance. It had been evident that I will no longer be able to rely on my own strength to get through the day. It was clear that I would not be able to last, or smile, or laugh, or cry with them again.

With Aigis' help, I was able to get dressed. I chose to wear my school's uniform then, after all, it was the last time I'd be able to wear it, the last time I'll be a student of Gekkoukan.

When Aigis helped me stand, I was taken into her embrace. And though I felt my heart break a little bit more, I squeezed her back as much as my body could allow, and had let go.

An android cannot cry, but as I listened to her voice she might as well have been for all the grief that weighed each word, and the tone that mourned with each pause.

I told her I knew, and she just stared at me in a silence that told me more than any word ever could have. Hope. Relief. Worry. I heard all those in that brief moment. When she took my hand in hers, then I heard more.

I felt warm, and light.

She held on to me as she assisted me in mobility, held on to me even when I just stood. I had asked her to take me to Gekkoukan's rooftop. I had wanted to see Iwatodai one last time, and revisit memories made on each familiar site I'd have set sight on.

But then, I had felt my soul trickling at edge of the abyss, dangling on a tip as a dew does sliding atop a leaf. I could not maintain focus, the corners of my vision barely able to keep stable. My breathing, then, had turned shallow, and a second felt longer than it should.

When I came to, I saw the thin line of circuitry at the base Aigis' chin, and that a side of my face was cupped in her hand. I stared at the golden sky and could not feel the cloth of her shirt pressed against my cheek, no heat, nor cold.

She told me that she could hear the others coming. Through the cold kept at bay by Aigis's warmth, I had felt my spirit soar. I was glad when they remembered.

She helped me sit up then, and told me that she wanted to greet the others. I let her go, her warmth with her, and sat where I was sat.

It felt like years when I felt warmth blossom where my hands would have been, more so when I heard my name uttered as though a wish come true. And maybe I was, that's how he had always made me feel.

I had gained will from his touch, and tried to open my eyes so I could see him one last time.

But I could not.

I wanted to cry out, but instead with what strength or will I had left, I told him I love him. It was strange saying those words to him without being able to see what he looked like then, but it felt right.

And though I could no longer feel the pressure of his body against mine, having been enveloped in his warmth had been more that enough.

For a moment, I regretted having to die, to not being able to spend the rest of my life with him. But the thought of him dying come new cycle, had dashed my hesitation.

As I knew of our joining's nearing end, I had imagined my fingers slowly filling the spaces between his, and hoped that my body at least grant me that last selfish wish. I had imagined that he had smiled, and for that moment I felt at peace. I thought I would continue feeling so.

But that was not the case.

A/N: It's been a while since I last played P3P. Years.

Reading fics about Persona kind of motivated me to create my own.

Anyway, don't hesitate to tell me what you think! I would love to hear any suggestions you might have.


	2. Chapter 2

I never died, or... maybe I did. For a brief moment I thought I'd gone and passed to the other side. I half-expected to be beneath cerulean skies, and barefoot on vibrant green pastures trailing a brightly colored butterfly off an endless paved path. Was that my definition of heaven?

I suppose I don't have that great an imagination, or simply it's a concept I've come to associate with peace, and with peace I've associated heaven. It wouldn't be absurd, given that it was what I had begged for, what I had fought for, and hoped for at the end of every full moon.

That is me expecting I'll go to that place. But that is a topic best left untouched, though it doesn't matter now, where I'm going doesn't matter at all. I'm not going anywhere. Not... anywhere...

After I 'died', I discovered later on that what had been my deteriorating state was my soul's slow albeit excruciating transition to become the seal.

Being reminded of the fate I had come to accept had made me... determined to... face what duty I had as the bearer of such... cruel... burden.

For I had loved, and was loved. For I had loved, and was... loved. For... I...I...

I had loved.

I saw everything, and nothing; sensed everything, and nothing. Smiles on faces I had not known; Pops of happiness sparkle like soda bubbles in clear moistened glass. Tears on faces I had not known; In their hearts I see so much that is broken; the tear of being parted, the bleeding wound of a betrayal, it is a miasma that dances like fire in each individual that is afflicted. And here I am a witness, a voyeur to each one, and to no one.

I knew everyone, yet none at all- save the few I had loved, and had loved me in return.

From time to time I would get glimpses of the people that had once been important in my 'life'; Junpei in his shy but budding relationship with Chidori, Ken grown taller walking a wisened Koromaru, Yukari in one of her rehearsals as a rising artist, Fuuka in the midst of appraisal and development of some kind of technology, Aki...hiko and Mitsuru-senpai under piles of paperwork after an investigation done, and Shinji... in front of a stove looking disheveled but professional, shouting obscenities to those under his wing.

I was so happy for them, so... happy.

So... terribly happy. So... terrible. So... horrible.

Everyone had the chance to make more of their lives, but I was without a body, or so I believe. I had been unable to move for so long as I had regained consciousness. I am here, and nowhere. I could barely count the number of times I've wanted to reach out to them, but had no arm to stretch nor hand to touch.

I feel so helpless.

Would someone save me? Someone? Save me, please?

I can feel them, all of them. See them. Why am I here?

Familiar persons smiling, holding, laughing. I say live, but another part says 'not without me.' Don't leave me here!

Shouldn't I be the one with him? It's... crowded here. And I can't move. I... I can't move!

Get me out. Get. Me. Out! Out! Let me go. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please.

 **"Minako-sama..."**

The sound felt like cool balm on... my soul. It sounded so familiar, yet not... The voice was someone's I've heard before, the tone however... was soft, and... hoarse. I feel as though I was used to hearing it expressed in a more business-like manner. Somehow the thought saddened me.

"Minako-sama..."

Ah. I remember, it was Theodore.

"Minako... It'll be alright."

My dear... Theo. Has he come to visit me in... this prison? It seems I've forgotten so much. What I had meant to do. I hope he's here to keep me company. A moment would be enough. Even if brief. Let me just... remember. I... I want to be...

"I am here... Minako."

Where was he then? I could feel everything and everyone, but him I could not. There is nothing of him that I can see.

 _ **"**_ _I'm_ _ **... scared, Theo."**_ Those were words I've forced from my thoughts. How it works is simply to imagine it being said. I didn't think I had a mouth to speak. Not here.

And as though he's heard, he answered with a hum, a gentle tune of contemplation. It made me remember... the moments I've had with him. At the Palauwnia mall standing near an object of his fascination, his chin caught between two fingers, mouth puckered to a pout, skin almost white against the mall's colored background, and gold pair of eyes lit up in curious determination.

 _ **"Theo..."**_ I wish I could see him _ **"I... can't see you..."**_

Warmth held somewhere I believe my hand once was, and I knew, though I could not feel, that I have begun to cry. It's been so long.

"Minako... Please. Shed no more tears." I felt heat brush across where my cheek would have been "I am... **here** "

But I couldn't see him. I couldn't.

"Ple-please, please. Don't cry, my-Mi-Minako-sama." Warmth was where my shoulders were "It'll be... fine. Everything will be okay soon."

 _"_ _ **T-take me back, Theo.**_ _.."_ I wanted to see everyone again, I knew it was futile to beg. But I could not seem to help myself. _"_ _ **Please. Theo. Please.**_ _"_

I felt heat touch where my lips would have been, like the fleeting contact between fallen snow and skin. It was... a lingering sensation. I knew I cried harder "As you wish, Minako..."

A/N:

This was real shitty to write. Tryna fit into Minako's dollie shoes was exhausting, and Theo's role in this makes me feel a wee bit guilty.

Yeah, and I just winged SEES' future in Minako's timeline. I have absolutely no idea what they ended up as in the game, and based them on some of the fics I've read on here and just added a few personal touches here there. If there's an official say I'd love to know, I may or may not make revisions.

Anywho, thanks for making it this far, lol. Tell me watcha think. I'm open to suggestions.


End file.
